Every month we shine a light on the fabulous people of Village Well by sharing a staff profile. This month we are featuring Jennifer Cook who leads our new Sydney office!
Name & role: Jennifer Cook, Director Village Well NSW.
Where did you grow up? Murgon - A small town in country Queensland that most people have never heard of.
What is one thing that people don't know about you? I ran an alternative music festival for emerging contemporary artists in Brisbane for four years and speak fluent roadie.
What is your secret superpower? Inspiring and aligning teams to a common vision or outcome that speaks to everyone's aspirations. It's amazing how often people go into a room thinking their views are firmly opposed and come out a few hours later in complete (surprise) agreement!
What is one of your favourite projects? Quay Quarter Sydney. Circular Quay is such an iconic Australian location; it's the site of the first colonial settlement at Sydney Cove and it holds enormous significance to Indigenous Australians as the documented place of first contact with Europeans, on the land called Warrane, an important site for fishing and camping. It's on many a traveller's bucket list, the views to the Opera House, the Bridge and ferries are world-famous, and its base camp for some of the world's top businesses.
Image courtesy of AMP Capital
The co-owners and developers AMP Capital have such big aspirations for site - as a globally admired workplace, a catalyst for transforming Circular Quay, an authentic place for locals and visitors to experience culture, history and the best of Sydney, a new residential community, new public green space and places for celebration - so it needed a really strong place vision to pull all of those wishlist items together.
The AMP Capital team understands that it's not a 'set and forget' exercise; places are living systems and need care and ongoing attention to thrive.
Jennifer Cook, Director NDW & QLD, Village Well
Jennifer has been on the project for over six years, first working with the development team to create and align the vision, and now with the asset management team to ensure that the place activation supports the original vision. After a successful launch this week, the queues of people demonstrate that Quay Quarter is the hottest place in Sydney right now!
If you could invite 3 people to a dinner party who would you invite? Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Angela Merkel and Ita Buttrose.
What are you reading right now? How to Change your Mind, Michael Pollan.
What team do you support? I don't follow sport, but I'm an active surf lifesaver and my home club is Coogee, Sydney.
Who at Village Well is most likely to play loud music in the office? Valli Morphett, CEO. She really cranks the tunes!